Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is coming soon, and that’s when we learn all about MacOS 16, the next version of the Mac operating system (as well as iOS 19 the new iPhone OS and iPados 19). This version may include some major changes for Mac, including a new look -interface.
Apple has not made any formal messages about MacOS 16 so far, but the rumors are starting to leak. This article keeps track of the reports so you can get an idea of ​​what to look forward to when MacOS 16 is revealed in June and arrives at Mac later this year.
Update 1 June: The next version of the Mac operating system can be called MacOS Tahoe.
MacOS 16: Release date
We’ll get a first look at the next version of MacOS at WWDC in June, but Apple’s official release of MacOS 16 (possibly called MacOS 26) will be in the fall, as is usually the case.
The release of MacOS 16 is likely to coincide with the release of iOS 19, which is likely to happen a few days after the iPhone event in September 2025. We expect the iPhone event September to take place on September 9 so that the software could be out around 15 or 16 September.
However, Apple has previously scheduled the update to MacOS after iOS, sometimes as short as a week, sometimes as long as a month, so there could be a longer wait.
Here is the recent shipping story for macOS.
- MacOS 15 SEQUOIA: 16. September 2024
- MacOS 14 Sonoma: September 26, 2023
- MacOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
- MacOS 12 Monterey: 25 October 2021
- MacOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
- MacOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
- MacOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018
MacOS 16: Developer and Public Betas
However, you do not have to wait for the full release to try the new software. Apple is running a developer -beta as well as a public beta, so if you want to try the new features before being released to the public, you will be able to. Both betas are free, although developer Beta requires a free registration as a developer.
The first developer MacOS Beta is usually sent at the beginning of WWDC. By 2025, WWDC -keynote will take place on June 9. The public beta is released about a month later, usually after the developer beta moves to another phase (beta 2). By 2024, pubic beta arrived on July 15.
Between WWDC and the official release in the fall, Apple releases Beta updates to developers and the public. Anyone who uses beta is encouraged to submit error reports using the included Apple’s feedback assistant app so the company can address them.
Learn more about participating in Apple’s Beta Software Program so you can sign up and test the new software as soon as the beta arrives.
MacOS 16: What will macos 16 be called?
Unlike its other operating systems, Apple enters a name for macOS. The current name is MacOS Sequoia, but since it is Version 15 of the software, it is also known as MacOS 15. Then it follows that the next version of MacOS will be MacOS 16, except that there is a report from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, which claims that Apple will call the next version of its Mac operation system MacOS 26. This will be in line with all its operation system 26. This happens, it will definitely be less confusing to everyone!
But macos also has another name that is not tied to the number. Since OS X 10.9 in 2013, Apple has used names associated with California.
Rumors of the new name will swirl before the official release. Some supposedly brand names that have circulated in recent years include California, Condor, Diablo, Farallon, Grizzly, Mammoth, Miramar, Pacific, Redwood, Redtail, Rincon, Skyline and Shasta. These names have been registered by a company assumed to be a shell for Apple. Internally at the company is MacOS 16 Codenname Cheer, but it won’t be its final name (see all cod names for macOS versions in our complete list of each macOS and Mac OS X release.)
On June 1, Gurman reported that the name will be MacOS Tahoe after Lake Tahoe in northern California. Lake Tahoe is known for its deep blue water, which Gurman quotes as an allusion to the user interface expected in the new macOS.
Will Apple continue with the California-based names? Trust it.
Apple
Here is a list of the recent macOS names based on places in California:
- OS X Mavericks (Version 10.9)
- OS X Yosemite (Version 10.10)
- OS X El Capitan (Version 10.11)
- MacOS Sierra (Version 10.12)
- MacOS High Sierra (Version 10.13)
- MacOS Mojave (Version 10.14)
- MacOS Catalina (Version 10.15)
- MacOS Big Sur (Version 11)
- MacOS Monterey (Version 12)
- MacOS Ventura (Version 13)
- MacOS Sonoma (Version 14)
- MacOS Sequoia (Version 15)
MacOS 16: Compatibility
Because macOS 16 may contain major interface changes, Apple may decide to make this the first version of macOS not running on Intel-based Macs.
The signs of this started appearing a few years ago and with Sequoia, which only supports recent Intel Macs (see: Intel Macs that can run MacOS Sequoia for more information). Apple wants to move all users of these Macs over to M-Series Macs and could use this version of MacOS as a Cutoff point. It is unknown whether UI changes depend on hardware found only on the M-series MACS.
With that in mind you can check the specifications of your Mac and then look at what we expect MacOS 16 to be compatible with:
- MacBook Air (M1 or Newer)
- MacBook Pro (M1 or Newer)
- iMac (M1 or newer)
- Mac Mini (M1 or Newer)
- MAC Studio (M1 Max or later)
- MAC Pro (M2 Ultra or later)
There is still a chance that MacOS 16 will support a selection of Intel Macs. If it does the following Intel Macs will likely be covered:
- 2019 MacBook Pro
- 2020 iMac
- 2019 Mac Pro
That means no Intel MacBook Air Models and no Intel Mac Mini models and only the latest Intel models of MacBook Pro, IMAC and Mac Pro.
Learn more about which Macs are supported by Apple in our guide to how long Macs and MacBooks lasts and macOS compatibility: the latest version of macOS your Mac can run.
This may be the year Apple decides to make future versions of MacOs for only M-Series Macs.
Foundry
MacOS 16: New Features
Here are some of the new features expected in MacOS 16. This list will be updated when more features are reported.
Major UI change
According to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, MacOS 16 (along with iOS 19 and iPados 19) will have a redesigned user interface based “loosely” on Visionos, Apple’s operating system for its Vision Pro headset. Apple wants to make its operating systems more consistent across platforms, and Visionos will be inspiration for that.
Details of how Apple will implement this new design is not available yet, but Apple will not only port over Visionos UI to Mac and finish it. It will combine the best of both worlds and possibly allow Mac users to do more (and without a marker).
Due to Visionos’ touch implementation, it is easy to conclude that Apple is working on a touch screen Mac. Hardware rumors are more widespread than software, and the touch screen has not been mentioned about future MacBooks or Apple screens.
Come round icons for macos?
Apple
Apple Intelligence and Siri
Apple Intelligence debuted with MacO’s 15 Sequoia, and Apple is on a continuous development path with these features. However, the Apple intelligence promised for Siri in iOS 18/MacOS 15 has been delayed and is not expected until later in 2025, perhaps 2026.
Apple usually introduces SIRI updates first on iOS, so this delay means Siri updates in macOS have been pushed even further back.
Will Apple reveal other Apple Intelligence -Inspired Features? Or dependence on another tool to supplement chatgpt integration? Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in one late May 2025 report that Apple does not deliver “any AI breakthrough” at WWDC.
Upgrades of home app
Much of what is scheduled for the iOS 19 update will enter MacOS 16. While no details of the home app have been reported, no more reports on new Smart Home Hardware have been reported, so it would follow that Apple will update the Home app. However, the Home app is more often used on the iPad and iPhone so Apple could release the Mac version of the Home app at a later date.
Gaming app
MacOS 16 will reportedly include a dedicated game app, according to a Mark Gurman report from Bloomberg. The app will also be available for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, it is claimed.
The Mac app will take advantage of both the App Store’s gaming section and Apple Arcade and “Games downloaded outside the App Store,” according to Gurman. It will also offer editorial content about new games and centralize everything that is currently available in the Game Center.
Magnifying app and other accessibility features
The accessibility feature that was first shown on the iPhone is said to come to Mac in MacOS 16, and it is Apple that says it.
In May 2025, Apple revealed some new accessibility features that came to MacOS later this year. Among them is a magnifying app that works with a continuity camera (which allows you to use your iPhone as a webcam). With the magnifying app, a Mac can use their iPhone camera (or any other USB camera) to view their surroundings and zoom in.
Apple also provided details of a new accessibility reader that came to Macs later in 2025. This system -covering feature will make text easier to read by changing color, font and distance.
Other new accessibility features include: Braille access, background sounds and personal voice. Read about the accessibility features that come in the next major macos in our guide.